A one-time leader in an industry based on making and taking a bet, the Woodbine Entertainment Group now faces its biggest gamble yet.

In shredding a company that had grown to be one of the most lucrative and progressive in North American horse racing — both thoroughbred and standardbred — it is now in a fight for its survival.

And by getting lean in a purge of its workforce this week, management believes it has taken the first, necessary step to meet the future. If it is to get another deal with the devil — namely lucrative alternative gaming in quasi-partnership with the provincial government — it will be under dramatically different terms, which no doubt led to the cuts.

Few would argue that there was some fat in the Woodbine operation, a not-for-profit company that had reaped huge rewards from the slots at racetracks program which is being terminated at the end of March.

The company is pared down now and then some, however, after 109 salaried employees were let go on Monday, a Valentine’s week massacre that saw several other employees reduced to seasonal roles in response to the reduction in race dates that awaits for the 2013 season.

The drastic “restructuring of its operating model” — the company’s words — certainly sends a booming message to the rest of the Ontario racing scene. Prime among the latest questions facing those who race, own and breed horses in the province is that if the biggest track in the country can cut so deep, what will happen to them?

Because of the secret agreement Woodbine cut with the government last month, a two-year “transitional” deal designed to pick up the pieces from the carnage first announced last spring, there are far more questions than answers. Both thoroughbred and harness horsemen are already forced to figure out how they will deal with significantly reduced race dates this year, not to mention significant cuts in the major stakes races.

The fact that neither Woodbine or the government would (or could) reveal the financials of the transitional deal has led to speculation tied in with Monday’s layoffs.

WEG management has been aggressively lobbying for a full casino at Woodbine and showing the government a lean, profitable operation couldn’t hurt that bid, could it? Again, given the secrecy of the transitional funding, perhaps it came with conditions from the government after it took a peak at WEG’s books.

Whatever the motivation, the genesis of the restructuring is desperation. If racing is to survive in any semblance to its most recent form, the industry needs to muscle its way into being a part of the Ontario government’s overall gaming strategy. Whether that includes casinos, slots or even legalized sports wagering, remains to be seen, but Woodbine is doing what it believes it must to stay in the game.

The price is steep, however. Gone are dozens of long-serving employees, including many in prominent positions. To name just a couple, vice-president of standardbred racing, Bruce Murray, who oversaw North America’s top racing circuit was let go and is a huge loss. Glenn Crouter, the company’s highly visible vice-president of communications has retired though will be retained in a part-time contract role.

There is no denying that the racing industry in this province needed a makeover. But with all the good people already lost, it came at a huge cost. Even if the game does bounce back, it will never be the same.

MELNYK SHIFTS FOCUS

Eugene Melnyk isn’t leaving thoroughbred racing, but he’s changing his approach to the game that has given him several star performers over the past two decades-plus.

The Toronto-raised billionaire and owner of the Ottawa Senators has decided to get out of the breeding side of the thoroughbred game and took the first step to that end this week by putting 28 of his broodmares up for sale at auction in Kentucky. While Melnyk plans to keep a small number of mares for future breeding, essentially he has decided to focus on the racing side of the game.

“I think it’s fair to say we are effectively out of the breeding game for now,” Melnyk told Thoroughbred Daily News.

It is clear that the degenerating state of the game in his home province was a factor in his decision. Melnyk said the Liberal government’s destruction of the sport has set the industry back 20 years and if the landscape doesn’t improve, he may “just focus on Kentucky and New York” for his racing operation.

Melnyk, who names most of the horses he breeds after places in the Barbados where he has a home, was voted Canada’s top breeder in 2009 and has twice been the country’s top owner. He’s a finalist in the latter category for this year’s Sovereign Awards, which will be handed out in April.

FINISH LINE

Canada’s top trainer, Mark Casse, has made a rider change on one of his potential Kentucky Derby horses, Dynamic Sky. Casse has decided to replace Woodbine’s Luis Contreras with Joel Rosario for the colt’s next test, the Tampa Bay Derby on March 9. That race is stacking up a tough one with trainer Todd Pletcher’s Verrazano — one of the current favourites for the Derby — also expected to enter.

Sponsored Links

Woodbine's layoffs a sad sign of the times

A one-time leader in an industry based on making and taking a bet, the Woodbine Entertainment Group now faces its biggest gamble yet.

In shredding a company that had grown to be one of the most lucrative and progressive in North American horse racing — both thoroughbred and standardbred — it is now in a fight for its survival.

And by getting lean in a purge of its workforce this week, management believes it has taken the first, necessary step to meet the future. If it is to get another deal with the devil — namely lucrative alternative gaming in quasi-partnership with the provincial government — it will be under dramatically different terms, which no doubt led to the cuts.

About the author

Other Stories

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — While Jays management exited baseball’s Winter Meetings with plenty of work still to be done, Ross Atkins is hoping for improvements from several players already on the roster in 2017.